The Impact of Sewage Sludge-Sweet Sorghum Blends on the Biogas Production for Energy Purposes

The paper presents research on the impact of adding various forms of sorghum to sewage sludge on the anaerobic digestion process. The use of liquid sewage sludge alone in biogas plants at wastewater treatment plants is inefficient due to the low total solid (dry matter) content of this substrate. The tests revealed that the production of methane in biogas is low and amounted to 17.9% (105.4 Nm(3)center dot Mg-1, VS-volatile solid). Therefore, other substrates should be blended with sewage sludge to increase the total solid of the batch. Sorghum silage, sorghum pomace, and sorghum juice were added to the sewage sludge in various proportions during the research. As a result, the improvement of the biogas process, the stabilization of the biogas production curve, as well as the increase in methane yield were observed. The most biogas and methane were obtained from a mixture of sorghum juice (5%) and sewage sludge (664.8 Nm(3)center dot Mg-1 VS and 53.9%, respectively). Biogas production from other substrates based on sorghum and sewage sludge ranged from 457.4 to 588.8 Nm(3)center dot Mg-1 VS. For a mixture of juice (7%) and sewage sludge, the batch was acidified, and biogas production was only 281.5 Nm(3)center dot Mg-1 VS. Studies have shown that intelligent blending of an alternative raw material (compared to traditional maize silage) with sewage sludge allows for similar biogas yields while maintaining a stable anaerobic digestion process.

Automated summary

The research shows that blending high-fiber and low solid content sewage sludge with high-solid sorghum silage, sorghum pomace, and sorghum juice can improve the biogas generation process and increase biogas production. The mixture of sorghum juice and sewage sludge produces the highest amount of biogas and methane. Intelligent blending of alternative raw material with sewage sludge allows for similar biogas yields while maintaining a stable anaerobic digestion process.